Eye medicament package



United States Patent Gfiice 2,767,7ll Patented ct. 23, 1956 `EYEMEDICAMENT PACKAGE Otto Ernst, Sherman Oaks, Calif. Application February25, 1954, Serial No. 412,473

9 Claims. (Cl. 12S-249) This invention relates to unit medicamentarticles combining a medicament with a sealed receptacle. of unit size,for package sale on a drugstore shelf. The general object of theinvention is to provide such a uint medicament article embodying lacontainer, a readily removable cap or cover for the container, and alliquid medicament sealed therein, the cap beingsealed to the containeradequately to prevent the Vescape of the medicament. l

A particular object of the inventionV is to provide snch a medicamentarticle which is of extremely inexpensive construction.

A further object is to provide such a medicament article.

which may embodyl a` container of resin, elastomer or rubiber material.

tance to corrosion from its contents; transparency such as to render itscontents visible; adaptabilityfor eyepleasing conto-tiring, finish andcoloration; andabiiity to effect a moisture-tight,mechanicalsealbetweenthe `,container and its closure cap without resorting tocementing, bonding or welding.

Other objects will become apparent in the ensuing lspecifications and`appended drawings in which:

Fig. lis a perspective View of a medicament article embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same;

Fig. ,3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the article;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view showing theseal;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View of the cap rim;

Fig. 6. is a side lview of the upper part ciftl'iecontainer, showing theinitial stage of removingethe cap; Fig. 7 is afragmentary, partiallysectional view of an article embodying a modified form of the invention;

,Fig. f8 is a fragmentary sectional View of another modified form;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional View of anothernmodified form; and

Fig. l is a fragmentary sectional view of another modified form.

Referring now to the drawings, I have shown in Figs'. lf3, as anexampleeof one form in which the invention maybe embodied, a medicamentarticle vcomprising a container (eye cup) indicated generally at 5, yaclosure cap. 6, and a` body lof liquid medicament 7 sealedvwithinVthecontainer Vby the cap 6. The liquid medicament 7 may be any eyemedicine, such asv for examplean aqueous solutionof boric acid. Theclosure vv6Lis so .associated with the container 5 as .to effectivelyseal .the container against thevescape of thevmedicament.

tion. the medicaments contained in the receptacle and are par- 4the.lateral wall 12, defines a shoulder 14.

Eye cup 5 may be constructed of any suitable material,

lpreferably of molded construction, such as molded synthetic resin,glass, hard rubber, impregnated papier mch, sheet plastic material, ordrawn metal corrosion resistant to the fluid contained therein eitherthrough the nature of the metal itself or by virtue of a corrosionresistant coating superimposed thereupon. In the latter case the bead 13may be a bead of rectangular section. The preferred construction is amolded article of thermoplastic synthetic resin which may be apolystyrene or polyethylene, chlorinated polystyrene, fluorinatedpolyethylene such as the tetra liuoro ethylene polymer, polyvinyl halideresins such as` polyvinyl chloride or polyvinylidenechloride orcopolymers thereof, either unplasticized o1' slightly plasticized ifnecessary so as to have adequate toughness to resist fracture, combinedwith form retaining rigidity. v

The rim, 1.3 may have the characteristic bowedrshape, as yviewed in sideelevation or in longitudinal vertical section (Fig. 3), the end portionsof the riml being somewhat higher than the central side portionsthereof, whereby the rim may better fit the contour of the eye. Thisfeature however constitutes no part of the present inventionexceptinsofar as it does vadd to the probleil` of sealing the cap 6thereto. u

Cover cap ncludes aA central webvportion 16, having a shape and arcacorresponding to that'of rthespace defined within rim 13; a marginalflange 17 projecting outwardly from the web 16 and adapted to fit snuglyagainstthe inner wall of theieye cup 5 at the rim 13; a curled collar 1Sforming a continuation of ange 17 and shaped to mate with the externalcontour vof rimbead 13; and a marginal lip 19 which projects inwardlytoward iiange 17 and is adapted to snugly seat beneaththe shoul- `der`14 and against the outer face of lateral wall 12of ywhich 4itsurrounds, in order to accommodate the ythickness of eye cup lateralwall 12, and in the assembled article, the hoop tension in marginal lip19 will cause it to constantly bear snugly against the outer surface oflateral wall 12. It is of course necessary to stretch the lip 19 to aneven greater diameter than its final diameter in the assemled article,in order that it may pass over bead 13. However, the cap 6 is made of amaterial sufiiciently resilient to allow this stretching and suffi'ciently elastic to return to the position shown in Fig. 3, wherein itsnugly engages the lateral wall ofthe eye cup with residual hoop tensiontherein. In general, the cap 6 has the characteristics of rubber and maybe formed thereof, whereby the rubber may be a compounded natural gumrubber or a synthetic elastomer as for instance chloroprene polymer orbutadiene copolymers of various types. Yl prefer however to mold cap 6by use of a thermoplastic polymer particularly from those previouslyenumerated and, in particular preference, from polyethylene since thesesynthetic resin polymers afford a highly form retaining yet sufficientlyelastic material of construc- They are equally high in chemicalresistance to ticularly resistant to moisture absorption and moisturevapor transmission, thereby preventing the loss of the medicament byevaporation, diffusion and migration. A still further advantage of theuse of polyethylene and for www...

this matter plasticized polystyrene as well as the vinyl halogenpolymers and copolymers, is the translucent or transparent nature whenunpigmented, which permits observation of the medicament in thecontainer.

The cap 6 has the following essential characteristics: inertness to themedicament contents of the container; resistance to migration,absorption and vapor transmission; toughness; and flexibility sulhcientto al-low apron 18 to be stretched around rim bead 13.

As to the absorption characteristics of both the cap and the container,the invention contemplates the use of only those materials which meetthe following requirement: a sheet of the material at lleast l thick, incontact with water (or an aqueous solution) at room ternperature(approximately 7078 F.) for at least 24 hours, shall allow a waterabsorption no greater than 1%. As examples of materials and theirabsorptivity, is given:

Vinyl chloride resins-01% to -.6% Vinylidene chloride resins-less than0.1% Polyethylene resins-less than 0.01% Polystyrene resins-0.04% to0.27% Chlorinated rubber-0.1% to 0.3% Isomerized rubber-0.02%

Hard or semi-hard rubber- 0.02%

The following materials are listed as examples of unsuitable materials:

Ethyl cellulose-1% to 2.5%

Cellulose acetate-4.9% to 6.0%

Cellulose acetate, high acetyl-l.5% to 2.9% Cellulose acetatebutyrate-l.l% to 2.2% Cellulose acetate proprionate-1.5% to 2.3%

The cap 6 includes in addition to the parts previously mentioned, a tabwhich is positioned as a radially outwardly projecting extension of lip19, substantially in the same plane therewith. Tab 20 serves the purposeof providing a grip which may be grasped between the fingers of a personpreparing to use the medicament 7 and pulled outwardly so as to stretchthe lip 19 at `one end of the cap 6. Thus the lip 19 may be elongatedsufficiently to slip it lover the rim bead 13 at one end of the eye cup5, until the lip 19 in the immediate vicinity of tab 20 rests on top ofrim bead 13 as indicated in Fig. 6. Thereupon, the remainingcircumference of lip 19 may be stripped from rim bead 13 by pulling thetab end of the cap 6 (retaining the grip upon tab 20) toward theopposite end of the eye cup as indicated by arrows 21 in Fig. 6.

In the packaged article, web 16 of cap 6 will nonmally be bowedinwardly, in full contact with the upper surface of liquid medicamentbody 7.

In the manufacturing process of filling the container, filling may bedone atmospherically, by simply pouring the medicament into thecontainer, -or forcibly expelling it from a nozzle into the container inthe case of a salve or other non-fluid material. This is the preferredmethod where the medicament is not deteriorated by contact with residualtraces of air in the sealed container.

Optionally, the container may be vacuum-filled in those instances wherethe presence -of residual traces of -ai-r may be considered deleteriousor otherwise undesirable, or for the purpose of obtaining the benefit ofsuction clinging of the cap to the container to supplement themechanical clinging of collar 18 to rim 13.

In such instances, during the filling and capping of the container 5,all residual air is withdrawn from the container in a suitable manner toeffect this result of completely evacuating the container of air. Thismay be accomplished by doing the capping in a vacuum chamber accordingto methods known in the canning industry. It may be accomplished bywithdrawing excess liquid or air through the cap 6, using a hollowneedle 23 as illustrated in Fig. 7 and inserting the needle through acapillary passage 24 which may be formed for example in a boss 25 on theunderside of cap web 16a of Fig. 7, the boss 25 being sufficientlyresilient and elastic to stretch the amount required to `enlargecapillary aperture 24 to receive withdrawal needle 23 and to then returnto a contracted condition wherein capillary aperture 24 is of suchminute size as to be incapable of allowing air imolecules to passtherethrough. In this connection, the pressure of air at normalatmospheric pressure against the external boss 25, creating adifferential of substantially l5 pounds per square inch over thesubstantially zero pressure within the container 5, assists the inherentcontractile tension of boss 25 to completely close capillary passage 24to this extent, so that a permanent seal is maintained.

Similarly, there may be an evacuation connection in the form of anexternal boss 25h on the bottom 10b of contanier 5b as shown in Fig. S,with a capillary passage 24b into which a withdrawal needle such as theneedle 23 of Fig. 7 may be inserted while the container is in aninverted position, so that the residual air within the container may beevacuated therefrom. The boss 25b in this case is adapted to have aselfealing action upon capillary passage 24h when the needle 23 iswithdrawn, as in the arrangement described above with reference to Fig.7.

In Figs. 5-8 inclusive, those parts which are designated by the samenumerals as are used in Figs. 1 4 are corresponding parts, whereas thoseparts which are designated by numerals that correspond to the numeralsof Figs. 14 with the exception that exponential letters are addedthereto, of parts which are `modified as described above.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 9, the rim 13a, instead ofprojecting Wholly outwardly of the inner wall of side member 12 (as inFig. 4), has its axis centered above side member 12, and lip 19a,instead of being the outer marginal portion of curled collar 18a, isformed at the inner margin of offset flange 17a, as a co-planarcontinuation of web 16, and is engaged beneath a shoulder definedbetween the inner wall of the side member 12 and the inner, under sideof rim 15a.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 10, container 5b is ofsofter, more flexible material than cover 6b, and curled toroidal collar18h is formed at the rim of container 5b instead of being the marginalportion of the cover. The outer portion of collar 18h constitutes a rimflange 17b of the container. Flange 17b and collar 18b are radiallyspaced to define la toroidal space having a narrowed mouth. Cover 6b hasa downwardly projecting annular coupler bead 13b which as a narrowedneck portion joining it to cover web 16b and is widened beyond this baseportion to dene upwardly facing shoulders which are engaged by rimflange 17b and the terminal portion of collar 18h, respectively. Rimflange 17b and collar 18b are stretched around bead 13b, when bead 13bis inserted through the narrowed mouth and into the annular spacedefined between flange 17b and collar 18b, for the purpose of removingor replacing cover 6b.

The invention provides a highly sanitary and quick to use combinationpackage comprising a container and a ready to use medicament ascontrasted to the former practice usually involving a dirty and dustyeye cup in a medicine chest, having to be cleaned and filled beforeusing, with costly time loss, etc.

I claim:

1. A unit medicament article comprising a container in the form of aneye cup having an outwardly projecting rim bead defining a mouth shapedto fit a human eye;

a body of liquid medicament therein', and a cap of resilient, elasticmaterial including a covering web portion having a shape and areacorresponding generally to that of said mouth, an offset flangeprojecting outwardly from said covering web portion and shaped to fitsnugly within said mouth, and a return-curled toroidal collar portionadapted to t snugly around said bead and to effect a seal therewith toprevent escape of said medicament from the container, said collarportion including a marginal lip normally of smaller diameter than saidrim bead and adapted to engage beneath said rim bead to eiect a seal.

2. In a unit medicament article, a container in the form of an eye cupincluding a rim bead defining there-within a mouth shaped to fit the eyeand projecting radially outwardly from said lateral wall to define,where it joins the outer surface thereof, a undershot shoulder; a bodyof liquid medicament in said container; and a closure cap of resilient,elastic material including a central web portion having a shape and areagenerally corresponding to said mouth, an oliset flange projectingoutwardly from said central web portion and having a corresponding shapeso as to fit snugly against the wall of said mouth, an outwardly curledtoroidal collar constituting a continuation of said offset flange andshaped to tit snugly around said rim bead, and a marginal lip at theextremity of said collar, having a diameter which is less than thediameter of said rim bead, said lip being adapted to engage with asealing action beneath said shoulder.

3. An article as defined in claim 2, wherein said cap is of a moldedpolyethylene resin material.

4. An article as defined in claim 2, wherein said cap and container areof molded synthetic resin thermoplastic material of which a sheet of Mz"thickness will show an absorptivity of not over 1% when exposed to waterin contact therewith at room temperature over a period of at least 24hours.

5. An article as defined in claim 2, wherein said cap and container areof molded synthetic resin thermoplastic material of which a sheet of Vithickness will show an absorptivity of not over 1% when exposed to waterin contact therewith at room ytemperature over a period of at least 24hours, said container being relatively rigid and form retaining and saidcap being relatively soft and resilient, and being of a polyethyleneresin material.

6. A medicament article as dened in claim 2, wherein the diameter ofsaid lip in its unstressed condition is suiiiciently small to correspondto the external diameter of said flange, whereby said lip, as installedon said container, will be stretched to the extent of the thickness ofthe container wall and will thereby hug the container wall under hooptension to establish sealing contact therewith.

7. A medicament article as defined in claim 6, wherein said capincludes, at one end thereof, a tab projecting radially outwardlytherefrom, adapted to be grasped between the fingers of the user topermit the stretching of one end of said lip sufliciently to slip itover the said rim bead at the corresponding end of the container,preparatory to slipping the cap from the container so as to open thecontainer.

8. An article as defined in claim 7, wherein said tab is disposedsubstantially in the plane of said lip.

9. In combination: a container in the form of an eye cup including aside member and a bead defining the rim thereof, said bead having ahorizontal thickness greater than that of said side member where it isjoined thereto and defining therewith an undershot shoulder, said beadalso defining a mouth shaped to fit a human eye; a body of liquidmedicament in said eye cup; and a closure cap of resilient, elasticmaterial including a central web portion having a shape and areagenerally corresponding to said mouth, an offset flange projectingoutwardly from said central web portion and having a corresponding shapeso as to fit snugly against the wall of said mouth, an outwardly curledtoroidal collar constituting a continuation of said offset flange andshaped to fit snugly around said rim bead, and a marginal lip at thejunction between said web portion and offset flange, having a diameterwhich is less than the diameter of said rim bead, said lip being adaptedto engage with a sealing action beneath said shoulder.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS146,179 Hall Jan. 6, 1874 537,146 Froehlich Apr. 9, 1895 658,273 MooreSept. 18, 1900 2,017,800 Hilgenberg a Oct. l5, 1935 2,560,376 WatermanJuly 10, 1951 2,614,727 Robinson Oct. 21, 1952 2,630,237 Rosenlof Mar.3, 1953

